Best teleprompter font size and scrolling speed
Two settings decide whether a teleprompter feels easy or exhausting: how big the text is and how fast it moves. There is no single correct number, because both depend on your screen, your distance and the way you speak. This guide gives you a method for finding your own settings in a few minutes, plus a table that shows how many words fit in 30, 60 and 90 seconds.
Key takeaways
- Set the text size for the spot where the phone will really stand, and test it from your recording seat.
- If you lean toward the screen to read, the text is too small. Make it the smallest size you can read without leaning.
- Match the scroll speed to your own speaking pace. Many people speak somewhere between 120 and 160 words per minute, but time yourself instead of guessing.
- Start slower than feels right. Speeding up is easy, catching a script that runs away is not.
- Use the table below to plan the length of a script, or let a target length set the speed for you.
Font size
Set it for the real distance
Most people adjust the text while holding the phone close, then put it on a tripod an arm's length away and find it unreadable. Do it the other way around. Put the phone where it will stand, sit or stand where you will record, and only then change the size.
A two-minute size test
Read one paragraph aloud at your current size. If you caught yourself leaning forward or squinting, make the text larger. If it reads easily, make it one step smaller and read again. Keep going until you start to lean, then go back up one step. That is the smallest comfortable size, and smaller text keeps your eyes closer to the lens. Our guide to looking at the camera while reading explains why that matters.
Text that is far too large has its own cost. You read one or two words at a time, your head moves and the delivery turns choppy. Aim for a narrow column with a few words per line, readable at a glance.
Typeface, colour and contrast
Plain, sturdy letters read best at a distance. Thin or decorative faces blur when you are a little out of focus. Keep the contrast high: light text on a dark background is easy on the eyes in a dim room, and dark text on a light background can work in a bright one. Leave mirroring off when you read straight from the phone, because it is meant for glass teleprompter rigs. If you wear glasses, check for screen reflections before you record.
How many lines to show
Telepromptia can put the script on a black panel right under the front camera and lets you choose 1, 2 or 3 lines in the reading settings. One or two lines keep your eyes closest to the lens. Three lines give more context for longer sentences. Try each on a short script and keep the one that lets you stop thinking about the screen.
Scrolling speed
Find your words per minute
Read 150 words aloud at your normal pace and time yourself. Words per minute is the number of words divided by the minutes taken. If 150 words take 65 seconds, you speak at about 138 words per minute. Do this twice, once relaxed and once as if you were presenting, because the two numbers are often different.
What fits in 30, 60 and 90 seconds
This table shows the rough number of words for each pace. It assumes you speak without long gaps.
| Pace | 30 seconds | 60 seconds | 90 seconds | Feels like |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 words per minute | 60 words | 120 words | 180 words | Calm, careful, explaining |
| 140 words per minute | 70 words | 140 words | 210 words | Conversational |
| 160 words per minute | 80 words | 160 words | 240 words | Brisk, energetic |
If your script has many pauses, take off roughly a tenth of the words, since silence uses time too. Count after you write, then confirm with a timed read-through.
Match speed to the content
A constant scroll invites a constant pace, and real speech varies. Choose a base speed a touch slower than your normal rate, then slow down on numbers, names and the one point you want people to remember. If you find yourself chasing the text, the speed is too high. If you keep waiting for the next line, it is too low.
Let the app set it
Telepromptia has a target length setting of 30, 60 or 90 seconds. It sets the scroll speed so that your script lasts that long, and if the script cannot fit it tells you how many words to cut. You can also use manual scrolling, or voice-following scroll in Pro, which waits when you pause. The guide on voice-activated teleprompters explains how it works.
A starting recipe
- Place the phone where it will stand and sit in your recording position.
- Pick the smallest size you can read without leaning.
- Choose one or two lines on the panel under the camera.
- Set a speed slightly slower than your measured pace.
- Rehearse once, then adjust the speed in small steps.
Common problems
- You read in a monotone. The speed is probably too constant. Slow down on key points and rehearse once more.
- You run out of breath. Your sentences are too long for the pace. Split them, and add a pause marker where you want to breathe.
- You keep losing your place. Turn on sentence highlight and make the text one step larger.
- The script finishes early or late. Recount the words with the table, or use a target length.
Where Telepromptia fits
Size, speed, colour, font and mirroring are all adjustable in Telepromptia, and sentence highlight shows your place. The free plan includes the scrolling teleprompter and the black panel; see the features and pricing pages for what Pro adds. Scripts and videos stay on your device.